Okan Pekin

Industry veteran Okan Pekin has resigned as Citi’s global head of securities services. It is unclear why he decided to leave but he confirmed in a LinkedIn post that he is pursuing new opportunities. He is expected to stay in his role until the end of March 2025.

Pekin was the driving force behind one of Citi’s key units as the American bank looks to double down on its services business which it has dubbed its “crown jewel”.

Pekin, who joined Citi in Türkiye in 1989, has held various senior roles across the bank, including as global co-head of equities and securities services, global head of prime, futures and securities services, and global head of investor services.

Last year, in an interview with The Asset, Pekin talked about managing data in the securities services industry and the importance of upgrading financial market infrastructure to meet evolving market demands. 

Pekin’s exit from Citi comes at a time when the bank is looking to streamline its services business, which formerly comprised of payments, liquidity management services, trade and working capital solutions, and securities services.

Under the new services structure, products offered by securities services such as issuer services, custody, funds services and execution services will now be handled by two separate units, namely issuer services and investor services, which will directly report to global head of services Shahmir Khaliq.

Citi is in the process of recruiting a new head of investor services while Dirk Jones is already leading the bank’s issuer services unit.

Citi has been working to manage costs, simplify operations, and meet returns objectives. Jane Fraser, Citi’s CEO, has indicated during an earnings call that the cost cutting should help lift investments into data quality and meet expectations of regulators.

Citi’s securities services business generated US$5.12 billion in revenue in 2024, up 17% from the previous year. Quarter on quarter, however, revenues did decline, by 11% from US$1.39 billion in Q3 2024 to US$1.23 billion in Q4 2024.

The bank’s securities services business reported US$23.5 trillion in AUC/AUA ( assets under custody/assets under administration ) as of 2023, up by 13% from the previous year, according to a transcript from the bank’s 2024 Service Investor Day.

Citi is ranked as the fourth-largest securities service provider with an 8.9% wallet share in the estimated US$50 billion industry.